


Jane

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 11:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mike hears El's real name.





	Jane

Mike stood before the door to Hopper's cabin. It was a Saturday, which meant he got to visit El. This particular visit happened to be his first time seeing her since the Snowball, and was also his first time seeing the cabin. 

It's alright, he thought, as long as she likes it. 

After loitering for a minute or so, he finally knocked. Hopper opened the door and looked the boy up and down. His visit was expected, but Hopper just didn't know what to think of him yet. Why does she like him so much? 

"Hey, kid," he called out to EL, finally stepping aside so Mike could enter, "your friend is here." 

El entered the room and immediately ran to Mike. It hadn't been long since they had last been together - just a week - but any time apart for them was almost too much too handle. After pulling away from their embrace, El gripped his hand tightly - never wanting to let go - and dragged him off to her room. 

"Keep the door open," Hopper shouted after them, to which El obliged, not understanding why it was such a big deal to him. 

El and Mike sat next to each other on her bed, being sure to have some sort of physical contact. 

"Hey, El. I assume you've been well?" Mike finally asked when he felt calm again. 

"Yes," she stated simply, as not much had happened since she last saw him. "How are you?" 

"Better, now that we are together," he replied, bringing a small smile to her face. 

"How is school?" she asked. 

"It's great! Although, I do wish you could be there," he said. "Do you have any idea whether or not you'll ever be able to go with me?" 

She thought. 

"I don't know. I think it will be a while even if I can," she answered. 

Mike pursed his lips and stretched his face as if to say, yeah, that's the answer I expected. 

"That's fine I guess," he said. "We still get to see each other on the weekends." 

As he spoke, he let his eyes wander to a box sitting on the other side of the room. He couldn't help but notice that it had the name "Jane" scribbled on the side of it. 

"What's in that box?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't invading her privacy. 

El didn't know how to answer. It was a box of things Becky had given her from her mother. She hadn't spoken about her past much with Mike, so surely he wouldn't know about this. 

"It's from mama," she replied. "I didn't tell you about her. Do you want me to?" 

"Only if you want to," he said. He was curious about her past - as he should be - but he did not want to pry. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he didn't have to know. 

"I found her," she began, clearly being okay with talking about the situation, "while we were apart. The bad men took me away when I was born, but I found her. She doesn't live far." 

"That's good, right? Do you visit her often?" he asked, showing that he cared. 

"Sometimes, but she isn't right. They messed her up," she explained. 

Mike could see that the thought of the bad men hurting her mother made her sad, so he changed the subject. 

"Who is Jane?" he asked. 

"That's me," she said. "Jane is my real name." 

Mike let his mouth drop. This was not the answer he had expected, despite him always thinking she had a name besides the one she was given at the lab. 

"Not many people use it," she said, although not many people addressed her at all, "just some people you wouldn't know." 

He stared at the name scribbled on the box and read it over and over again. He couldn't help but hear her voice say it in his head when he saw it. 

"Jane," he said softly. He liked it. Beautiful. "Does anyone else call you El? You know, besides me and Max now, apparently." 

She searched for her answer. 

"I don't think so," she said. 

He smiled. 

"Jane and El - they both sound beautiful," he said. "Which would you prefer I call you?" 

The answer seemed obvious, but she still thought. Jane was her real name, and it made her feel like a real, normal person. But El, despite it being a shortened version of the name Papa and his sinister voice had always addressed her with, was the name that Mike had given her. She liked that. And she also liked that he was the only one who addressed her that way, aside from Max, of course, who she figured would use her proper name if she asked her to. 

"I don't mind," she said, ultimately deciding that Mike addressing her at all was good enough. "But I do like the name you gave to me." 

He looked at her sweetly as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. 

"El it is, then," he said. "But just for the record, Jane is the most beautiful name I have ever heard." 

The two then shared a moment in silence. But Mike was, of course, the first to break it. 

"Thank you for sharing a bit about your past with me," he said. 

He would be forever grateful for that moment - the first he heard of her past - because he would soon know more. And he could finally understand why he understood her so well.


End file.
